The Wind Turbine problem in NSW driven by political convenience is reminiscent of the fate of timber communities in Tasmania.
In 1986 I was working as a young forester as part of the Tasmanian Timber Industry. That was an election year and Bob Hawke was the Prime Minister. In truth, I had voted for Bob Hawke in the previous election believing he would look after the "working man". Well I was wrong!
In 1986 Bob Hawk sold all the timber workers in Tasmania down the river to win the mainland green vote. All my fellow workers and I were just collateral damage in an "end justifies the means" political campaign.
In 1986 I swore to myself that I would never vote Labour again; and I haven't after 30 years. In 2007 my support for the coalition was vindicated when John Howard flew to Tasmania and with the support of 2,000 timber workers and the CFMEU fought off Latham's attempt to shut down Tasmania's industry.
Now, in 2016 I'm having a Deja vu moment; this time it's not Labour selling rural people down the river, it's the Coalition; the Liberal Party.
By supporting wind industries the Coalition has opted to destroy our rural landscape, our rural health, our rural investment, our wildlife and our rural lifestyle for the sake of highly subsidised and inefficient wind turbines. Just to win the urban green vote.
It is not surprising why rural independents such as Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott who commit to rural constituents and local issues have been so successful.
Wind turbines are not the answer to climate change, there a short term political stunt

I would like to submit my support for the Rye Park Wind Farm Project. I see that it will have positive benefits for the environment, local farmers and for the local and broader communities.

Environment:
- Sustainable, clean energy production with a minimal carbon footprint.
- Minimal land degradation, as opposed to open cut coal mining.
- No loss of productive farming land.

Local Farmers:
- Money generated from lease payments can be put back into farm improvement and development resulting in better production.
- Reliable income stream from lease payments can help farmers during non-productive times such as drought.
- Limited impact on farm production during construction phase due to utilisation and/or improvement of current infrastructures.

Local and Broader Communities
- Job generation in Rye Park, Boorowa and Yass areas as local personnel and businesses are utilised during the construction phase. This will continue into the future as farmers put more money into farm improvement and development with their increased cash flow.
- Improved roads as the developers repair any damaged roads during construction, freeing local councils to put money into other projects.
- Increased opportunities for the Rye Park community to improve local facilities, including amenities, parks and school, benefiting the local area and its people.

As a landholder in Rye Park for over 10 years, I am looking forward to the opportunity to develop a more productive farm, employ more local businesses and expertise as this improved productivity occurs, and to contribute more fully to the improvement of the local community. We have been afforded this as a result of the Rye Park Wind Farm Project.

As a local resident and a proposed host to the Rye Park wind farm I am in support of this wind farm project. Not only do I support this project I support all projects that generate green or clean energy. Australia needs projects like this one to help reduce our CO2 emissions. This wind farm is expected to produce over 1GWH of energy every year. Wind is now the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to produce this amount of energy, with the lowest impact on the environment.
Rye Park is known for having strong and consistent wind. Most of the land that is to be used for the wind farm is low grade grazing land as a result there will be little or no impact to the local farmers in the district.
The wind farm will also inject a large amount of money into our local community, over $2million dollars through neighbour agreements and host lease agreements. This money will make its way into the rest of the community, building a stronger community. The wind farm will cost over half billion dollars and the construction period alone is expected to inject about $50 million into Yass and Boorowa. I suspect it will be one of the largest project ever seen in the area employing over 350 people during construction.
There is a large group of local residents that have signed neighbour agreements or agreed provide land to build the turbines on. This represents a large percentage of the population of the Rye Park district that are supporters of the project. I have also spoken to many businesses in the district and have found only a very small level of resistance to the project, as many believe that the project will inject much needed stimulus into the towns and give a boost to the local economy.
There will be an ongoing benefit to the whole district through the direct employment of 35 staff and the payment of approximately $300,000 a year into a Community Enhancement Fund. This fund will be used for the benefit of the local community helping to provide or improve existing facilities and services.
Almost all the members of our local CFA are in support of the project as the additional roads that will be built will allow quick and safe access to any fires in this large rugged area that is currently very difficult to access.
I understand that there is a requirement for some water during construct however, once this has been completed there is no ongoing need. This will leave all our creeks, streams and rivers untouched. Unlike coal generators which uses LARGE amounts of water as seen at Lithgow with their large cooling towers or so called cloud maker.
In summary I can only see benefits to Australia, NSW and or local district. As it will help reduce our CO2 emissions and boost our local district in many ways.

I believe this is the right development with the right developer in the right place. The developer has taken note of prior submissions and has adjusted the project to address the issues raised in a comprehensive and considered way. It has also sought to engage with the farmers and community to obtain feedback and to provide honest and open information on the project and its likely impacts. Not all of it is good in the eyes of everyone, but on balance it appears to me that the benefits of the project will far outweigh any negative impacts it may have and that the positive benefits for the broader community will be significant.

My family and I have been operating a grazing business in the Rye Park area for over 10 years and I can see that this project will have significant economic benefits for the farmers and community of Rye Park as well as for the surrounding area, particularly the major supply towns of Yass and Boorowa. The project will provide a significant direct and long term economic boost for the businesses in those towns and those benefits will flow through to the broader community.

Personally, the economic benefits of the project will allow us to invest more money into our farm and allow us to improve the sustainability of our farming systems and to improve our land. In doing so we will employ more local labour and spend more with local businesses. The project will not impede our ability to operate our grazing business in any way nor will it have any negative impact on our business.

While the project will generate electricity in a more sustainable, cleaner and less environmentally damaging way than some of the traditional forms of electricity generation, I also expect that the economic benefits of the project will have flow on environmental benefits at the farm level by providing funds for better whole farm planning and more environmentally conscious decision making. In our case this will include fencing off and regenerating environmentally sensitive areas such as gully's and putting in place better water infrastructure that minimises the impact on the environment.

The additional funding provided directly to the Rye Park community will enable the community to improve the town infrastructure in ways that simply would not happen if the project was not developed in the area. Those benefits will be a long term benefit for the current residents and all future residents of the town.

The work required on local roads, which will be funded by the developer as part of the project, will both improve the local roads and be a great benefit for the local councils in the area. These externally funded road improvements would, I expect, free up council funds that would otherwise have to go into maintaining those roads. So either more roads will get improved in the area or the councils will be able to divert the money saved into other areas for the benefit of the whole community.

I am happy to expand on my submission if requested.

I am writing to express my support for the construction of the Rye Park Wind Farm Project. I hail from a farming family in the Rye Park community. I completed my primary and secondary schooling in the local area and following this moved to Wollongong to complete an Engineering degree. Initially I studied a Bachelor of Mining Engineering, however with evidence of climate change and an increasing global awareness I could not see myself completing a degree so heaving focused on extracting non-renewable resources for electricity production. Following this I changed my major and graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and have a firm interest in renewable and sustainable design.

The Rye Park Wind Farm will provide an injection of revenue into the local communities with job opportunities for skilled professionals, subsidies for farmers, neighbouring property owners and additional community grants. I have witnessed first hand the extended hours of planning and research that Trustpower has conducted to ensure that the Wind Farm will be safe, economic and in the best interest of local residents.

As part of Generation Y my views align with a majority of my peers, renewable energies are the way of the future and there is no valid reason that this project should not go ahead.

The Rye Park Wind Farm Project is the right development in the right place to provide the right outcomes for the broader community and economy. Specifically:
* Sustainability - wind energy is a sustainable energy source that mitigates the risk of over reliance on fossil fuels and requires no water to run, which is particularly important in a dry continent such as Australia.
* Mixed Land Use - windfarms allow for mixed land use so that farming and agriculture can continue.
* Location & Space - as one of the least densely populated countries on earth, ranked 236 out of 244 countries, there is ample space in Australia for windfarm technology with minimal impact on the landscape (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_population_density).
* Technology - encouraging the implementation of alternative technology provides an opportunity for local industry to grow and develop new skills.
* Economic Benefits - the Rye Park community will receive an economic benefit, both during the construction and maintenance phases, with an increase in the number of people living and working in the region.

I object to the Rye Park Wind Farm on the basis of:
- overwhelming visual impact to the property that I will ultimately inherit from my parents (Residence 50), not only from the house, but from every area on the property.
- destruction of vital wildlife habitat during construction and decommissioning.
- the increased potential wildlife kill from the increased blade length.
- birds and bats cannot be told where to fly, so I don't believe the flight corridor changes are realistic or the planned "building in stages" to allow wildlife to re-establish habitat
- destruction of farming land that is vital for the production of food and fibre in the long term.
- impact of constant noise in the usually quiet rural environment.
- fire hazard - inability to fight fires around turbines, from the air as well as the potential for turbine failure to cause fire.
- increased local traffic, during construction and decommissioning, will cause further deterioration of all roads, will create potential increase in road incidents and accidents, will increase wildlife road kill.
- if the Bango Wind Farm is also approved, the cumulative visual impact from both the Rye Park Wind farm to the south, east and north east, together with the Bango Wind Farm to the north west, will be overwhelming on our property.
- increased health impacts during construction from increased vehicle exhaust in the area as well as dust, may lead to an increase in personal health issues including asthma and hay-fever.
- concerned for the welfare of livestock due to the increased truck movements and subsequent noise, and the potential for lack of understanding and empathy by wind farm workers/drivers. This potentially impacts all properties along transport routes but especially along the quieter roads including, but not limited to Rye Park Rd and Cooks Hill Rd, as well as vehicle movements on private property within the Wind Farm boundary.

I object to this Wind Farm application for the following reasons:
1. overwhelming visual impact that is not in keeping with the rural landscape, especially at Residence 50.
2. Impact of constant noise, on both humans and livestock
3. the developer retains rights over the property during the lifetime of the wind farm.
4. inefficiency in power generated as wind turbines only work at 31% of capacity (international average).
5. This windfarm is owned by an overseas company and that is where the money is going.
6. The creation of the wind farm still relies on fossil fuels.
7. There will be erosion from land clearing for the installation of the turbines.

I like renewable energy and believe that the town could benefit from wind turbines. It is a great opportunity for farmers to productively use wind in areas of their farm. I believe turbines do not have any bad effects and it is a great way to provide an income for our family. In my opinion the noise will not affect our household and my health will remain in a high quality.

My submission is in support of the Rye Park Wind Farm Project. As a nation we need to move quickly to the point where a substantial portion of our energy is generated from renewable sources. The impacts of significant climate change is just too big a risk for our people, infrastructure, environment and economy.

The Rye Park Project is expected to generate 1,192 Gigawatt hours (GWh) electricity per annum. This is enough electricity to power 130,000 homes.

*The carbon footprint is estimated to be paid back in nine months.

*Rye Park's strong and consistent wind makes a wind farm an efficient use of agricultural land.

*Local farmers will receive over $2 million every year for the next 20 years, either in lease payments or through neighbour agreements. This will dramatically increase the financial resilience of the local farming economy.

*The construction of the wind farm and associated infrastructure will have negligible impact on continued grazing activities. The wind farm will mostly use existing farm tracks and virtually all electrical cabling within the wind farm will run underground.

*The Rye Park Wind Farm project is a $600 million project. It has the potential to add economic value of $163 million in NSW, $45 million in the ACT and $49 million to the Yass/Boorowa region over the construction period.

*The project will create 369 jobs in the region during the construction phase, significantly increasing the number of people living and working in the area.

*35 ongoing full time roles will be created in operations and maintenance, providing long term job opportunities for locals.

*There will be a direct injection of over $5 million per year to the local community through payments to landholders, permanent staff, local councils, and the community. $300,000 of this will be paid directly to community organisations through the legislated Community Enhancement Fund contribution.

*Local businesses will supply goods and services including accommodation, engineering, earthworks services, fencing and landscaping.

*Ridges and valleys are a feature of the landscape around Rye Park. This will assist in minimising the visual impact of the wind farm. Only parts of the wind farm will be visible to a viewer at any one time.

*The planning for this project has required additional flora and fauna surveys to be completed, adding to understanding of the natural value of the area.

*Unlike coal-burning power plants, wind farms use no water in their operation, leaving local rivers and creeks untouched.

This project stacks up on all levels and I urge you to approve it.